Some of you might find the following article of interest. Particularly if you have children, grandchildren, or you are a teen or you just behave like a child!

In all seriousness this looks like a very interesting article that links consumption on carbonated non-diet softdrinks, video game playing with aggression.

Consumption of more than five cans of non-diet carbonated drinks a week was associated with behaviour that included carrying weapons and violent assaults.

The US researchers do not yet know if the link is causal, but have not ruled this out..

...Intake level was measured in cans. Up to four cans was considered "low", and five or more "high". Just under one in three pupils fell into the "high" category, some drinking more than two or three cans a day.

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

If someone drinks a lot of sugary soft-drink, they are likely to either have little regard for their well-being, or simply be dull.

It is surprising then that such people, might be "associated with behaviour that included carrying weapons and violent assaults", given the Buddha's teachings on kamma and different kinds of individuals?

For sure.I think the link between excessive video game playing amongst children and teens and anti-social and violent behaviour is well documented. What is interesting, if not that surprising, is the role of sugary and caffeinated soft drinks also have on behaviour in children and teens.kind regards,

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-25/new-link-between-soft-drink-and-violence/3599956 wrote:Professor Mike Daub, director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, said at this stage the only definite conclusion to be drawn from the study was the link between poor diet and economic disadvantage."A lot of young people do drink soft drinks, and young people that are disadvantaged and more likely to be involved in violence, probably also have a poorer diet," he said."So I think it's a marker, it's primarily telling us that people who are more likely to be violent come from backgrounds where their overall diet isn't very good."

Sounds right to me, though the sugar and caffeine certainly wouldn't help anyone maintain equanimity.Kim

Hi Ben,I question who funded the research...because it sounds as though they are implying that the 'diet' versions are in some way safer, when the very opposite is true.Aspartame is neurotoxic. It almost didn't get past the FDA, but Rumsfeld pushed it through. Seriously, refined sugar is bad for you, but at least the body knows what the heck it is...As for aspartame, I wouldn't even give it to a dog, let alone a child. (I love dogs, btw - no denigration of dogs intended!)

Then the Blessed One, picking up a tiny bit of dust with the tip of his fingernail, said to the monk, "There isn't even this much form...feeling...perception...fabrications...consciousness that is constant, lasting, eternal, not subject to change, that will stay just as it is as long as eternity." (SN 22.97)

Greetings Manasikara,The purported health effects of aspartame is a subject for another thread. And, personally, I won't be convinced of any adverse health effects unless you can produce published peer-reviewed papers and/or meta-study. But again, aspartame's health effects are subject for another thread.

As for who funded the research regardng the original article - I have no idea and I don't think its a particularly relevant question. Having worked in the health services sector, large companies, inc. pharmaceutical companies fund science research all the time - it doesn't mean that they exert pressure on the researchers to produce favourable results. If you feel inclined, feel free to contact the Journal of Injury Prevention or the authors directly:http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content ... 7.abstractkind regards,

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

I have no doubt this is true. Experts and other people have been saying as much for decades. On the other hand I can't list all of the people who I've had unpleasant interactions with because they were jacked up on too much coffee.

In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.

Jhana4 wrote:I have no doubt this is true. Experts and other people have been saying as much for decades. On the other hand I can't list all of the people who I've had unpleasant interactions with because they were jacked up on too much coffee.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

Well at least the last article was in a relevant discipline. But its just one article and on the basis of an abstract...I'm not convinced.

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

This research indicates physiological response decoupled from a hostility response. In other words, agitation and arousal occur as a result of such games, but the connection to hostility is far from clear.

This research indicates that video games affect those already beset by anger more than those who were not angry.

I could go on, but it's fairly off-topic. It's simply much more complex than the phrase "well-documented" suggests.

From the article in the OP:

The US researchers do not yet know if the link is causal

Yeah. Did you know a majority of criminals reported eating bread during the 24 hours preceding their crimes? If this was causal, bread increases criminal activity. But it's not causal.

The article is a non-report, it's sensationalism.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

Sounds ridiculous. I would be really interested in finding out who funded this "research". My guess would be the non-fizzy drink lobby

EDIT: you know on second thot, fizzy drinks are loaded with sugar, which is guaranteed to produce mood swings, or aspartame which can have disasterous neurological effects. Not to mention the effects of the caffine, which is being consumed in greater quantities in energy drinks. There may actually be something to this. Still sounds suspect to me tho.

“The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling.” ― Robert M. Pirsig

Ben wrote:In all seriousness this looks like a very interesting article that links consumption on carbonated non-diet softdrinks, video game playing with aggression.

So, what do you think?

I Absolutely Agree..i get into serious tantrums over Xbox Games..like ...it's so not funny somebody has to literally put a mirror in my face so i can come to the realization that i am no longer a child..

i usually consume junk food and soft drinks while i am it.

Last edited by Yana on Thu Mar 01, 2012 6:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.